Comedy is Hard

Never trust people who smile constantly. They’re either selling something or not very bright.”~Laurell K. Hamilton,

I never thought that I could be funny. Sure, on rare occasions I have elicited a chuckle or two from a group of people but never when I meant to be funny. It was always at my expense because I did or said something that was well, odd. I could never tell jokes. My timing is about as off as one can get. Life’s little ironies that made me giggle quietly to myself never were very funny to others who couldn’t seem to get my strange humor. I excepted this. I mean how many people are really truly funny, even most comedians, who attempt to be humorous for a living aren’t very funny.

“I’ve had great success being a total idiot. ”~ Jerry Lewis

It is a rare thing when someone or something can be funny. Imagine my surprise when MM upon reading a bit of this or a bit of that started to laugh at something I wrote. Of course I thought he was laughing at my funny strangeness and not at my funny hahaness, but he was. I couldn’t believe my ears.

At first I thought it was some sort of cosmic joke on me or some mistake perhaps an odd fluke that I could never repeat, but then it happened again and again. Others would comment that a post here and there was funny.

Sometimes I can take myself way too seriously and at other times I think I don’t take myself seriously enough.

And then that awful depression hit and I found I couldn’t be funny anymore. I tried and tried and all I could do is sound well, sad and pathetic. Sorry about that. I wasn’t as though I wanted to be that way. I tried to snap out of it. I watched funny movies, I scoured the internet for jokes. I tried to be funny and it would work. It was like OK, now be funny..ok now…do it now! UGH! Is this mic on?

Dammit, Comedy is hard.

I started to think about what people, especially what we who are Americans think is comical. Making fun of others seems to be high on the list, most notably celebrities and politicians which seem to say the wackiest of things. I can think of several incidences. One recent one that came to mind is Pat Robertson, the TV Evangelist who recently admitted that he believes demons live in used sweaters which is kinda funny on the surface but also sort of sad.

The leader of North Korea is the butt of many recent jokes including the whole Unicorn thing. Personally, I wouldn’t want this guy angry with me, no matter how ridiculous he appears.

Kim Jong Un upon his steed. What a man!

I googled “funny images” and most of what I saw was disturbing to say the least and many images were of cats. I shudder to think how many doctored cat photos they are online. It just seems…well, wrong.

Would you like to come home from work and find this?!

Really any animal doing anything vaguely human seems to tickle many funny bones, especially when they wear clothes and say smart things. Perhaps it is the element of surprise that comes into play here. For me it is the Homo sapiens saying smart things that surprise me.

I confess that I just don’t get many of the ‘comedians” that are out right now. Personally I like the old stuff like the Marx Brothers, especially the funny one, you know the one…

Karl Marx, communist and comedian.

I am automatically suspect of anything that has a laugh track or of any movie that claims itself to be a comedy. Those usually hit a wall in what I call the dip and turn morose and sad. In my opinion anyone who is trying to be funny isn’t.

What I find laughable is people who are trying too hard not to be, the one’s who take themselves and what they say, way too seriously. Now these people are hilarious!

I will try not to be so hard on myself; when I am funny and I am and when I am not, I guess I won’t be….but I promise you one thing; no more depression, no more sadness no more of any of that crap. The world is too full of THAT.

So…I choose to go to make you laugh in this decade and do the other things. Not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”

John F. Kennedy says that comedy is harder than going to the moon and Boy, this ice cream GOOD!

😀

Thanks for listening,

Strawberryindigo.

“I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade… And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party.”
~Ron White

I really like this post, I love that you aren’t trying to be funny, you are being authentically you and seeing the weird quirkiness of life and fellow human beings and situations and sharing that with your readers. Life really is pretty darn weird, and it is wonderful to whistle in the dark with someone else who sees and enjoys the strangeness.

Interesting post and thoughts to reflect on… This reminds me of the fact that I’ve always believed that I was too shy to even be considered funny, but then one day my friends confessed to me that I was indeed funny… when I was natural, at ease. Comedy should not be too forced or else it will sound too fake… and not funny. Just relax and… make people laugh with your true self🙂

GREETINGS

I believe in MAGIC
The magic that lives inside us. I believe that our belief in ourselves in the single most important factor in determining our present and our future.
I believe in the almighty power of LOVE and that the meek shall inherit the earth...if we believe.
I believe in unity and understanding, in tolerance and compassion. I believe in the power of a smile and that a little kindness can go a long way.
I believe that diversity is beautiful and inclusion makes us strong. I believe we can stand together for what is truly important and I believe we have the wisdom to know just what that is.
Drop by drop, like rain falling into sea--there is an incredible force in that which is WE.
I believe it's our right and responsibility, our duty to ourselves and future generations to make this world a better place.
WE have more power than we know
PEACE and LOVE,
~N.L. McKinley (Strawberyindigo)

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